Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, Lord of Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiogra...

Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. Elizabeth was the...

The Society of Jesus is a Christian male religious congregation of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents. Jesuits work in educat...

The first Act of Supremacy was a piece of legislation that granted King Henry VIII of England Royal Supremacy, which means that he was declared the supreme head of the Church of England. It is still the legal authority of the Sovereign of t...

Luis de Velasco, marqués de Salinas (known as Luis de Velasco, hijo to distinguish him from his father), Spanish nobleman, son of the second viceroy of New Spain, and himself the eighth viceroy. He governed from January 27, 1590 to November...

Archduchess Joanna of Austria was regent of Spain for her brother, King Philip II of Spain. She was born in Madrid to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (who was the first king of united Spain, officially King of Aragon and King of Castile) and...

Marcantonio II Colonna (or Marc'Antonio), Duke and Prince of Paliano, was an Italian general and admiral. Colonna, born at Civita Lavinia, was a member of the famous noble family of the Lazio, then one of the most powerful fief holder of th...

Sir Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage. All landed in northeastern Canada, around today's Resolution Island and Frobisher Bay. On his second voyage, Frobisher fou...

Lady Jane Grey, also known as Lady Jane Dudley or The Nine Days Queen, was an English noblewoman and de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553. The great-granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary, Jan...

Pope Clement VIII, born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.The Aldobrandini are an Italian noble family from Florence, with close ties to the Vatican. Its Roman fortunes were made when Ippolito Aldobrandini...

Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg was a Count of Nassau in Dillenburg. Other names he had were Jan VI or Jan de Oude ("John the Elder", to distinguish him from his 2nd son, "John the Middle", and his grandson "John the Younger"). John VI w...

Edward VI was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a daimyo who rose to become the second unifier of japan, after Oda Nobunaga. Hideyoshi was a very powerful emperor who exercised control over nearly all of mainland Japan through shrewd military tactics. He is known f...

Louis of Nassau was the third son of William, Count of Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William of Orange Nassau. Louis was a key figure in the revolt of the Netherlands against Spain and a strongly convince...

Philips van Marnix, lord of St Aldegonde, was a Dutch writer and statesman, and the probable author of the text of the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus. He was born at Brussels, the son of Jacob van Marnix, baron of Pottes. Marnix van...